The LA Dodgers have been preparing for Yoshinobu Yamamoto's starting appearance in the Tokyo opening series.
On the 5th (Korea time), Yamamoto took the mound for a spring training exhibition game against the Cincinnati Reds at Camelback Ranch in Glendale, Arizona, where he pitched 4 innings, allowing 4 hits, recording 3 strikeouts, and giving up 2 earned runs before leaving the mound.
As a result, Yamamoto lowered his spring training exhibition game earned run average to 5.63. He struggled a bit in the game against the Milwaukee Brewers on the 27th of last month, pitching 2⅓ innings, allowing 4 hits (2 home runs), 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, and giving up 3 runs. On this day, he also showed signs of trouble early in the game, allowing a concentrated hit in the 1st inning. However, he found stability starting from the 2nd inning and continued to prepare for the Tokyo opening series.
Yamamoto allowed a double to left field to lead-off batter T.J. Friedl in the 1st inning. He handled Matt McLain with a ground ball to shortstop, but after one out, he allowed a timely hit to the left from Elly De La Cruz, giving up the first run. He then allowed De La Cruz to steal second, amplifying the crisis to one out and second base, and was hit with a significant timely triple by Austin Hays that cleared the outfield wall. Despite facing a one-out, third-base crisis, he managed to get Jake Fraley to line out to the second baseman, preventing the runner at third base from returning home as he narrowly escaped the 1st inning.
In the 2nd inning, he got Christian Encarnacion-Strand to ground out to the second baseman. After one out, he allowed a double to right-center to Noelvi Marte but induced Austin WINS into a ground ball to shortstop and then turned Stuart Fairchild into a flyout to left field, overcoming another crisis.
At the top of the 3rd inning, after the batting order turned over, Yamamoto regained his stability. He got T.J. Friedl to ground out to shortstop and then struck out both Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz in succession with swinging strikeouts.
In the 4th inning, he recorded his third consecutive strikeout by getting lead-off batter Austin Hays with a swinging strikeout. Jake Fraley grounded out to the second baseman, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand lined out to center. Following the two runs allowed in the 1st inning, he finished the day with three scoreless innings.
He threw 47 pitches, utilizing 25 fastballs, 13 splitters, 6 curves, and 3 cutters. He capped his condition check by throwing a fastball that reached a top speed of 96.9 miles (156 km). Yamamoto is scheduled to pitch in the first game of the opening series at the Tokyo Dome on the 18th and 19th.
As Yamamoto left the mound, everyone anticipated that 'the perfect monster' Roki Sasaki would take over.
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